1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to novel compositions and the use thereof in regulating the growth of plants and more particularly to such compositions which operate to increase the crop yield of plants to which they are applied and to inhibit undesirable rank growth.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years agricultural methods have undergone revolutionary changes which include reduction of tillage and cultivation, crowded planting of new and old varieties of crop plants, and increased use of fertilizers with the ultimate goal of increased yields of crop plants per acre together with an overall reduction in labor requirements through an increased use of mechanical equipment. Although such new agricultural methods constitute advances in the art, the results have not been entirely satisfactory.
For example, while the mechanical harvesting of such crops as cotton, tomatoes and beans has lowered production costs, it has also created new problems. In the case of cotton, mechanical harvesting has created perplexing problems at gins and textile mills. Such mechanically harvested cotton absorbs moisture from the spindles of the harvester and contains considerably more than the normal 5 to 15 percent of trash present in hand-picked cotton. Particularly bothersome is leaf material which is one of the most difficult types of trash to remove. This additional moisture and trash in mechanically harvested cotton frequently complicates ginning operations and raises the costs of textile manufacturing by requiring additional steps in cleaning the cotton at the mill.
Recent efforts have been directed toward the development of various chemical treatments for the crop plant in an effort to overcome the objectionable attributes of mechanically harvested cotton. For example, processes have been suggested in recent years which have as their objective to provide increased yields of the desired crop and/or to inhibit rank growth. Such processes have been effective in some respects. However, some of the prior art methods require the use of expensive surfactants in order to obtain satisfactory application of the chemical product to the plant. Other prior art methods produce an insufficient increase in the crop yield and/or decreases in rank growth for economic utilization.
Therefore, it has been recognized that there is a need in agriculture for the development of a plant growth regulator and method for the use thereof which is capable of substantially increasing the yield of such crops as cotton, while substantially decreasing rank growth and which can be employed dependably and economically in a manner fully compatible with other agricultural and manufacturing processes.